9 Tips On How to Curb the Afternoon Slump and Stay Focused

It’s 12:50 p.m. and you’ve conscionable vanished a beautiful luncheon pinch your colleagues and are heading backmost to nan agency to activity connected nan study that your leader asked you to finish. You beryllium down connected your caller ergonomic chair and consciousness energized by nan mini-party you had astatine lunchtime.

You log into your PC and then, abruptly it hits you – debased power levels dip, blurry vision, and trouble focusing. Yep, it’s nan dreaded day slump.

Every day, group each complete nan world betwixt nan hours of 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. deed a wall. It’s nan void betwixt nan greeting complaint and nan precocious day push. A afloat tummy demands much humor and our assemblage gives successful to it, taking it distant from our brain.

Lo and behold, we find ourselves struggling.

If you tin relate, this article’s for you. But moreover if you can’t, nan tips you find successful this article will thief boost your power levels and let you to execute astatine highest capacity longer and much effectively.

6 Main Causes of Afternoon Slump

Let’s get 1 point clear: nan day slump is simply a very existent point for astir people. But—and it’s important to remember—it doesn’t person to beryllium that way.

Before we get into nan secrets of avoiding nan day slump, let’s first talk astir its six main causes.

1. Circadian Rhythms

Humans are wired this way. Our circadian rhythms make america astir sleepy from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. and 2 americium to 4 am. The early day is besides nan hottest clip of nan day, which is why galore countries successful South East Asia commencement schoolhouse early, to let children to caput location earlier 2 pm.

Growing up, galore group successful nan Latin world enjoyed siestas—aka nan day nap. It didn’t make overmuch consciousness to maine astatine nan time, but having played astir pinch galore clip guidance techniques complete nan past 10 years, I tin opportunity that a short 30-minute siesta really helps boost my power levels and productivity.

It turns retired that I’m not nan only 1 who enjoys a bully nap. Winston Churchill, Leonardo da Vinci, John F. Kennedy, Albert Einstein, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, Cristiano Ronaldo, Usain Bolt, and Lebron James are conscionable a fewer of nan large names that indulged successful naps.

2. Poor Sleeping Habits

Again, we’re humans, not robots. Our assemblage demands rest. While our bodies are built somewhat differently, astir group request betwixt 7 and 8 hours of remainder a night.

The problem is astir group shortchange themselves erstwhile it comes to sleep. They effort and compression successful different section of Game of Thrones aliases a fewer much games of Fortnite.

Teenagers are often astir blameworthy of this, but adults are conscionable arsenic bad. The problem is that adults don’t person nan unlimited power levels and betterment velocity that children possess.

3. Poor Eating Habits

We’ve each heard nan expression, “you are what you eat.”

I retrieve a clip erstwhile tennis stars had a very constricted model wherever they could compete astatine nan apical level. In nan 1990s, thing complete 28 was considered aged successful nan tennis world. Then, on came players for illustration Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal who changed everything.

Their fare was a large portion of their occurrence allowing them to widen their winning years good into their precocious thirties.

4. Dehydration

Our assemblage consists of up to 60% water. We request h2o to flush retired our systems. It helps america debar encephalon fatigue and gives clarity to our thinking. Yet, astir group take to devour java and soda.

Rather than giving our assemblage what it needs, group alternatively effort to hijack our systems and boost our attraction pinch caffeine and sugar. While this tin activity successful nan short-run, it’s not an effective semipermanent solution and ends up doing much worse than good.

5. High Levels of Stress

Our assemblage and mind build stress. When we acquisition stress, a hormone called cortisol goes into progressive mode, truthful leaving america to consciousness depleted and exhausted. Therefore getting capable remainder is important to managing different levels of stress.

6. Metabolic Disorders

It’s imaginable that you person an underlying metabolic upset specified arsenic pre-diabetes aliases insulin resistance. If so, you’ll find yourself suffering much conscionable aft luncheon if you’re not getting nan nutrient that your assemblage needs. These are indicators to speak pinch a wellness attraction professional.

9 Tips connected How to Curb nan Afternoon Slump

So, now that we cognize why it occurs, let’s look astatine really to curb nan day slump and enactment focused.

1. Get a Good Night’s Sleep

We only get 1 body, truthful it pays to return attraction of it. As I mentioned early, to execute astatine highest levels, astir group require betwixt 7 and 8 hours of slumber a night. It’s imaginable that mightiness not beryllium capable for you aliases that it’s excessively much.

We’re not each built nan same, but statistically speaking, that’s nan saccharine spot: 7 to 8 hours.

2. Practice Hachi Bun Mei

Hachi Bun Mei is simply a communal conception successful Japan. It fundamentally intends that you should eat until 80% full. In different words, stuffing yourself astatine luncheon is simply a look for disaster if you’re looking to debar nan day slump.

Being somewhat quiet keeps america awake. We’ve each had large lunches only to consciousness sleepy soon afterward and that’s because our assemblage is sending humor to nan tummy to digest it all. Then, nan inevitable brain fog occurs.

So, nan adjacent clip you find yourself wondering if you should decorativeness disconnected nan immense sandwich you sewage for luncheon aliases whether to support it for later, do nan latter. You’ll convey me.

3. Get Some Fresh Air

If there’s 1 instruction we should person learned from Covid and nan lockdown, it’s that we request to get retired from clip to time.

Fresh aerial is an underrated productivity hack. Too often, we find ourselves successful beforehand of screens these days. Many of america walk much than half our moving hours successful beforehand of a screen, only to prime up our iPads aliases iPhones during our breaks and connected nan train home.

Spend clip distant from nan integer world and get immoderate caller air. It’s singular really overmuch a 30-minute locomotion aft your luncheon break tin do for your wellness and sanity, not to mention productivity levels.

4. Stretch

For astir people, their lifestyles person go “sedentary.” For those unfamiliar pinch nan word, it simply intends to beryllium inactive.

We request to antagonistic our deficiency of activity pinch stretches astatine nan bare minimum. Sitting astatine a table each time agelong won’t thief your power levels. Instead, each 30 minutes, return nan clip to guidelines up, locomotion astir a bit, and do immoderate basal stretches. It’ll make a immense difference.

5. Practice Yoga

Stretches are good, but yoga is better. Unfortunately, you astir apt can’t do it correct location successful nan agency aft lunch.

Yoga should beryllium done first point successful nan greeting earlier you commencement your day. It’s singular really different you’ll consciousness erstwhile doing conscionable a 20-minute convention each morning.

6. Eat nan Right Kinds of Food

There are bully foods, and location are incorrect foods. Fast food, power drinks, caffeine, and carbs are conscionable a fewer of nan things that tin punishment your wellness if overdone. Instead, deliberation salads, protein, and greens.

Read this article for tips connected patient eating: 15 Healthy Eating Tips from a Professional Health Coach

7. Say Affirmations to Yourself

Affirmations are highly powerful. It’s easy to get pulled down by each nan negativity we travel crossed during our work, which tin easy exhaust us. It tin commencement to impact your mind, particularly arsenic nan time drags on.

Saying affirmations is simply a measurement of boosting your mind pinch positivity. “I tin grip thing that comes my way” is simply a bully illustration of an affirmation. 

Read this: 30 Daily Positive Affirmations to Boost Your Motivation

8. Smell Peppermint Oil

Smelling peppermint lipid has been known to invigorate and amended intelligence function. Simply rubbing peppermint lipid connected your hands and patting your look mildly is an easy measurement to springiness yourself a mini patient power boost.

9. Meditate

We’re each logged into nan matrix successful 1 shape aliases another. It has go a measurement of life. That’s why we request to do things that let america to get distant from it.

Meditation is each astir clearing our minds and taking power of our thoughts. It’s different underrated method that tin thief you woody pinch nan stresses of life.

Here’re 7 ways to commencement meditating.

Final Thoughts

The day slump is inevitable, arsenic it’s practically a portion of our DNA. But pinch a fewer elemental changes to your lifestyle, you’ll beryllium amazed astatine really overmuch you’ll beryllium capable to debar it and, successful nan process, boost your attraction arsenic well.

Featured photograph credit: Miikka Luotio via unsplash.com